Dark
by StandardToast
Summary: I did not miss you. I missed the person I thought you were. and now I'm paying for it. AN: slight language and violence.
1. Hello

She laughed to herself quietly.

Should have seen it coming.

She laughed again, this time a little colder. Her life was filled of 'should haves.' This was just another to add to the ever-increasing list. But it wasn't like she was going to get anytime to add it. She shifted slightly, the blade along with it. She winced as a new wave of pain hit her. Seems like she wasn't going anywhere.

Sakura lifted her head slowly to survey a scene she already knew. Trees had been laid to waste; their limbs twisted and cracked from impact, scorch marks burnt into them. Along with the trees, lay craters of cracked earth littering the area like unwelcome pock marks. Pools of mud squelched under her feet, trying to suck at her feet and pull her under. The pink-haired girl tried hard not to lose her footing and let the blade inch in further because it seemed as if its owner had not intention of letting it go.

_Speaking of the owner…_

Towering above her stood none other than her dark-haired ex-teammate. His imposing figure was silhouetted by the midday sun at his back, glinting off of his blade and her blood. He held his extended katana with practiced ease, digging it further into Sakura's shoulder, letting more blood ooze out from her wound. She winced slightly, trying to mask the excruciating pain. Involuntary tears streamed down her cheeks as the fire burning through her shoulder increased.

His emotionless voice echoed through her tears

"Something funny, Sakura?"

She gazed up at him, watching his lips twitch into a twisted mockery of a smile. If her body had had the energy to shudder, it would have.

This was not Sasuke.

But she didn't know how many more times she could tell herself that. It didn't really seem to matter. She was going to end up dead anyway.

She lowered her head. She was just so tired. Even if she could have answered, it wouldn't have helped. Instead she was trying to cut through her hazy mind and figure out an exit strategy that would ensure she wouldn't get disembowelled in the process. No luck so far.

The blade shifted again at her non committal reply.

"Where's the Sakura I knew? As weak as she was, she would have given much more of a fight."

Sakura ground her teeth together.

"She buried beside the Sasuke I knew." Her lungs burned as the words tumbled from her lips. She felt herself beginning to lose consciousness from the loss of blood.

She heard him emit a strange laugh.

"No, the Sasuke you knew grew up and opened his eyes"

She chuckled painfully, feeling blood drip past her lips. She would have told him that he was just a slave to his anger, but the air she was going to form the words burnt her lungs, rendering it useless.

He let out another dark chuckle.

"Too bad you won't have time to open yours. But don't worry; Naruto will be joining you soon."

Before she could even consciously process her next move, a snarl unleashed itself from her chewed lips. Gathering her last wisps of chakra in her hand, she grasped the blade protruding into her flesh and ripped it out of her bloodied shoulder. Before Sasuke could react, she formed a fist and slammed it into his chest. Since she had barely any chakra left, it wasn't as effective as she had hoped. But he still flew pretty far, much to her satisfaction. Hands shaking, she reached into the pouch strapped to her back. Pulling out a solider pill, she quickly swallowed it, feeling it stick all the way down.

Immediately she felt her chakra levels lift. It was a temporary fix for a very big problem. She figured from the loss of blood, she only had fifteen minutes of chakra left before she would collapse and, more than likely, die. Quickly, she pushed a pad of gauze on her wound wrapped it quickly. She could see Sasuke getting to his feet a little ways off, swaying slightly. Despite his arrogance, she knew she had inflicted some damage to him during their fight. Sakura knew she was lucky his teammates weren't with him; otherwise the fight would have ended up being much worse.

Dragging her mind out of her thoughts, she quickly spoke up to the boy across the clearing.

"Touch Naruto, and I will kill you Sasuke, even if I die in the process. You are not the Sasuke from team 7, nor will you ever be. "

Sasuke coughed out a laugh

"And how will a dead woman do that?"

Sakura eyes widened as she felt a presence flit behind her. Ducking to avoid a massive blade meant to slice her head off; she somersaulted away from the presence and jumped onto one of the remaining trees branches. Glancing down to her new opponent, she spied none other than Suigetsu, Sasuke's new teammate. Her gaze flitted towards Sasuke, who was getting helped to his feet by a red-haired girl.

Karin.

That left one more.

Hearing an enraged roar behind her, she quickly leaped from her branch just as it was reduced to splinters. Sakura dropped down to the ground, heart racing, palms sweating.

The cavalry had arrived and she was officially _screwed._

Just as she was about to throw her last explosive kunai, she heard Sasuke speak out, supported by Karin.

"That is enough. Juugo. Suigetsu. She is mine."

Both men nodded and Sakura noted that Karin sneered at Sasuke's wording. Sakura had no time to wonder about it, as two kunai were sent hurtling towards her. Quickly grabbing a smoke bomb out of her pack, she slammed it onto the ground, smoke enveloping her surroundings. Using it as a diversion, she jumped out of the purple haze and behind a nearby tree. Quickly, she formed hand seals and created a shadow clone. Ordering it to stay behind, she took advantage of her opponent's momentary blindness to make a run for it. Hopefully she would be able to come across a patrol with a medic and get herself out of this mess.

She cursed herself for speaking too soon, spotting Suigetsu's form appear in front of her. Quickly dropping from her branch, just in time to hear the branch shatter from his blade's impact, she panted softly as she crouched on the ground. Sasuke was there again, leaning against Karin as she healed his wounds.

"I thought I told you she was mine, Suigetsu."

Suigetsu sneered, snarling at Sasuke.

"She used a fucking smoke bomb, I _hate_ those things!!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the pale boy.

"Try it again, and I'll kill you."

Suigetsu rolled his eyes at Sasuke's words

"Fine, she's all yours, oh fearless leader"

He sheathed his sword and walked back towards the forest, leaving Karin, Sasuke and Sakura in the enclosure. Sakura began to think up another exit strategy.

Karin's chiding voice entered her mind instead.

"Now now, don't go hurting your brain trying to think of ways to escape. Nobody gets past Sasuke."

Sakura wrinkled her nose at the red-head's comment. She knew that without a doubt that there was no escaping the situation, but the longer she held out, the longer Naruto was safe. Inhaling deeply, shuddering from the pain, she drew a kunai from her pack. Sakura snickered coldly.

"Quite frankly, I don't care if I get past him or not. I'd rather get right in front of him so I can see his face when I sink this knife into him."

She knew the moment those words left her lips that they were a lie. She could never kill him, even after he tried to kill her. She couldn't do that to Naruto, not after all the blonde had done to try to bring him home. She also knew that, as much as she lied to herself, she knew deep down inside, under the scars and resentment, that she still loved him. And she hated herself for it. Steeling herself against the pain coursing through her body, she focused on her forgotten shadow clone and ordered it to seek help. Any help. Gathering her thoughts, she formed the hand seals in her mind and prepared to attack.

"It's no use, Sakura. You're still so weak."

She ground her teeth together at his words, breaking the handle of her kunai. She knew he was egging her on, wanting her to get angry, get stupid. It wasn't going to work. She didn't need him to affirm her strength when he had none himself. But if he was going to fight dirty, so would she.

She let out a scornful laugh

"At least I'll get to see my family when I die. I know you're going straight to hell Sasuke. Your mother must be so proud of her son."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes into a lethal glare. Pushing Karin behind him, he spat out his next words

"Say something like that again, and I'll cut your tongue out."

Sakura smirked at the seething, crimson-eyed boy. Such a mamma's boy. Despite his outwards coldness, Sasuke had always been a slave to his emotions. First, his tunnel vision towards killing his brother, then becoming part of Akatsuki, probably so he could kill someone else. He thought he hid his emotions so well, but Sakura knew better. Those years they spent together as members of team 7 had shown her that he wasn't a cold, calculating machine, but an angry little boy stuck in a powerful body. She quickly drew another kunai to replace her broken one. Looking him straight in the eye, she spoke softly

"Poor thing, it was bad enough that one son turned into a mass-murderer. But you always looked up to your brother, so I guess it was only a matter of time, wasn't it?"

She revelled in the sick sense of schadenfreude that over took her when his face transformed into an ugly snarl. This was probably going to kill her, but at least she put up a fight before she went. Sasuke's lips began to form a scathing retort, but another voice interrupted.

Karin.

"Shut up! You have no idea what he had gone through, you sick bitch. You think you're so high and mighty because you're from Konaha, isn't that right?"

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. Sasuke said nothing. Sakura broke out into a sad smile. She felt her heart break. At one point in time, that would have been her, hiding behind Sasuke, defending him.

She had been replaced.

Suddenly, her chest contracted painfully, forcing her to crumple to the ground in pain, coughing up blood. Her chakra was disappearing at an alarming rate. Her solider pill was wearing off. Faced with the certainty of death, she let herself lay on the cool ground, breathing through fire-filled lungs. She heard the clicking of nin-sandals making their way towards her. She closed her eyes, knowing full well what was to come next. A scene from her past flitted across her eyelids. It was when she and Naruto had surprised Sasuke with a picnic for his birthday. It was the first time she had seen him smile. Her lips twitched upwards as the scene faded. Her eyes opened slowly, seeing Sasuke's dark silhouette above her.

"Goodbye Sakura"

She let one final smile cross her lips.

Dark.

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A/N: I know, I know, kind of dark, lots of plot holes. Oh well, it was fun to write! Working on Genesis, so when I update, it isn't a steaming pile of excrement.

And question that are probably going to be asked:

**What is happening? What happened at the end?**  
_Weeell_, I like to leave some room for imagination. If you _really_ want a prologue/epilogue, I might squeeze something out.

Reviews are always appreciated


	2. Goodbye

"_What__the__fuck__ is wrong with you?!!"_

"_Shut up, I'm not in the mood"_

"_YOU'RE not in the mood?__ YOU'RE__ NOT IN THE MOOD?!"_

"_Yes, that's what I said, clean out your ears"_

"_If I wasn't inside your head, I would kill you"_

"_But you can't- Wait a sec- why are we still here?"_

"_Well, if you had sucked it up a little longer than we would know!"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_YOU- WE- ARE UNCONCSIOUS!!!"_

"_What!?"_

"_You heard me, clean out __your __ears. And if you don't drag our asses back home soon, we'll both be dead."_

"_So, we weren't killed?"_

"_I thought you were supposed to be smart. Wake the fuck up so we can go home."_

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Sakura's eyes flashed open.

Flinging herself upright with a gasp, she jumped to her feet, only to feel her world spin around her. Tipping backwards in a state of dizziness, she landed on her behind with a soft 'thump'. Still in a state of alarm, she quickly snatched a kunai out of her pack and held it defensively.

Realization dawned on her suddenly.

There was no pain in her shoulder.

She snapped her gaze towards the limb and gasped in disbelief. Her red shirt was still intact and no blood marred the fabric. Confusion clouded her features and she whipped her gaze back up to the forest she was sitting in. The leaves swayed gently on the intact trees and a small mouse ran across unbroken earth. Slowly, she got to her feet and cautiously crept closer to the line of trees. She tried to make sense of her situation.

When she had first encountered Sasuke, it had been early morning, and their fight had only ensued for roughly an hour before he impaled her on his sword. It was only less than half an hour afterwards that he had 'killed' her.

It was dark out.

She eyed the forest carefully before stepping past the line of trees. She crept forwards silently, ears pricked in attention and heart pounding. There wasn't anyone in sight, nor could she sense _anything_ (well, besides the mouse). Her eyebrows creased together in concentration.

Just what was going on here…?

She could see no evidence of a fight of any sort in the forest. The trees stood upright, the earth beneath her feet was still flat and no scorch marks marred any surfaces. Deciding that perhaps it was a good idea to move on quickly, like her inner had told her, Sakura pivoted on her foot to face the direction of Konoha.

Only there was one problem.

As she turned back the way she came, Sakura caught sight of a silhouette at the line of trees. Her heart dropped to her stomach. All she could make out was the spiky hair of the individual, but it was enough to send the adrenalin rocketing through her veins. Licking her dry lips, she took a deep inhale to calm her nerves. Just as she was about to make a run for it, Sasuke spoke up softly.

"So you are awake already. I'm impressed."

If Sakura's eyebrows could have gone any higher, they would have.

"What are you talking about?!" she snapped out in an acidic tone.

"Well, all of the people that I've used that technique on normally take a few days to awaken. And after they've awoken, they normally suffer a mental breakdown." He said in a flat tone, slowly approaching the pink-haired girl's position.

Sakura was about to answer, but Sasuke kept talking.

"I forgot you had the freaky inner."

Sakura winced at his words, as well as her inner screaming in her head

"_KILLHIMKILLHIMKILLHIM!! I am NOT __FREAKY__!!! If you don't hurt him, I will never help you again!"_

Pushing her inner into the recesses of her mind, she rolled her shoulders back and narrowed her eyes.

"Listen, if you are here to treat me like a science experiment, then you can go to hell." She said in a harsh whisper. Before he could reply, she added on more.

"Actually on second thought, I don't need to tell you, you're already going. Say hi to Itachi for me."

Before she could react, Sasuke's hand flew around her neck and she felt her back slam against a tree. Panicking, she tried to shut her eyes before she was ensnared in his Sharingan.

Too late.

Caught in his glare, all she could do was stare dumbly at him as he spoke.

"Don't speak about what you know nothing of."

His grip tightened

"You know, I could have killed you while you were in that vision, but you were just so pitiful, so sad, so _weak_-"

Sakura hissed in protest. She would have punched a hole through him if she wasn't stuck.

"See what I mean? I could kill you right now, and you could do nothing to stop me-"

Sakura let a very un-lady like snarl pass through her lips. Summoning the strength, she fought through the haze.

"Then why don't you, you _fuck_!" she coughed out as his grip tightened.

A faint smile crossed his features as he cocked his head sideways to look at her.

"And where would the fun in that be?"

With that, he flung her to the ground. Not expecting to be released, Sakura collided with the ground and winced as her elbows and knees scrapped across the forest floor. She snapped her gaze to Sasuke who now had his back towards her and was slowly walking away.

"Oh no Sakura, I expect you to go back to Naruto and tell him all about our little 'meeting'. Can you imagine his fury when he finds out what I did to you? He'll come running out of Konoha after me."

Picking herself off the ground and wiping the dirt from her cuts, Sakura sneered at his words

"Oh, I didn't realize you wanted a tryst. I'm sorry to break your heart, but he's with someone else. And you haven't done anything to me, so what makes you think I'll tell him?"

All that met her ears was a harsh form of laughter she had never heard before. The sound struck her ears and she flinched as the sound entered her mind. Not only was it highly unusual to hear Sasuke laugh, it was also highly unusual that he had talked to her for so long. She had expected him to have left her impaled on a tree to rot after catching sight of her. Something much more sinister was going on here.

"I haven't done anything to you. Yet. You think I believe that you've actually grown up, Sakura? You are still the same little weakling I left all those years ago. You wandered right into that genjutsu without even realizing it. So to save me time, stop the tough-girl attitude and start whimpering for your life like I know you wi-"

Pain exploded through his whole being before he could finish. While he had been rambling, Sakura landed a punch on the dark-haired boy's rib cage and sent him flying across the clearing. In her mind, being called weak was punishable by a severe beating, leading to a prolonged stay in the ICU at the hospital. And she wouldn't want to let her _Sasuke-kun_ down, would she?

Clenching and unclenching her fists, she fought the urge to beat him to a bloody mass in the span of a minute. She was going to draw this out. She was going to _enjoy_ this.

"Oh Sasuke-kun, what a silly boy you have become. There are so many things you say that make me feel you crossed the line. If I'm so weak, why don't you get over here and show me real power?"

Crossing her arms, she waited for Sasuke to make an appearance. Knowing him, he would probably pop up behind her and try to slice her head off. She was ready. She waited.

And waited.

Nothing happened.

Her eyebrow cocked in curiosity. Where did the smug little bastard go?

She carefully crept over to where she saw him land. The pink-haired girl knew she was probably walking into a trap, but when was Sasuke ever one for sneak attacks? He could easily appear behind you and slice you into ribbons in moments. It was really more of a sneak slaughter than an attack. Attacking implied that the target stands a chance. Almost no one ever did.

She parted the bush that he had sailed through and an involuntary gasp passed through her lips. Sasuke lay slumped on the ground, seemingly unconscious and breathing with laboured and pained gasps. Sakura smiled. She knew better. Pivoting on her foot, she faced the clearing again

"Oh, like I would fall for something like that. I'm not a genin anymore. Nice try."

Forming her hands into a seal she softly muttered a 'Kai' to cancel the genjutsu. She glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see the fake-Sasuke disperse.

It didn't.

Sakura frowned in puzzlement. That had never failed her before…

She knew this wasn't another nasty Sharingan genjutsu because everything looked normal and she wasn't getting stabbed, maimed, disembowelled etc, etc.

She shut her eyes and inhaled deeply. She spread her senses out to try and locate where Sasuke was hiding. All she could sense was the fallen form behind her.

Realization dawned on her.

_Oh snap_

Stumbling to turn around fast enough, she sprinted over to Sasuke's side and put her hand to his mangled rib cage. Panic began to sink in as she realized that she had broken all of his ribs and a shard had punctured his lung. His gasps became more ragged as she sat there, gnawing her lips in worry. If she healed him and he took off, she would be helping a missing-nin, essentially making her a traitor. If she healed him and she somehow managed to bring him back to Konoha, he would be executed. If she didn't heal him, he would die of asphyxia. Sakura's face scrunched up in worry. Sasuke was supposed to die in some glorious fight, not one punch delivered by her. There was no way he would be defeated this easily. There had to be some other reason. Her heart was telling her to help him, her head was telling to finish what he started.

Deciding on her course of action, she summoned all the courage she had, and got to work.

Working carefully around the other shards, she carefully extracted the piece of bone protruding from his lung. Sending chakra into his body, she forced out the excess liquid pooling in his body and lung and started to mend the wound. She noted that his breathing improved, if only slightly. He would have to seek professional medical attention if he wanted to heal his lung permanently.

Sakura sighed.

Next came the actual rib cage

This was going to be a very long night.

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Groaning in exhaustion, Sakura stretched out her aching back and slowly got to her feet. With a wide yawn, she rubbed her eyes and gave her face a few slaps to overcome her body telling her to rest. She had stayed up the whole night mending his broken body and making sure he didn't die after all her invested time and energy. And she'd be damned if she gave up now.

As it turned out, it hadn't been just her that had caused the damage (although she liked to think it was), but it had been numerous wounds, spaced out along a timeline, that had done him in. Essentially, he had been walking around with a fractured wrist, a broken rib, several lacerations and a massive bacterial infection. Add one mega-punch and his body simply could not hold out another second.

One mega-fantastic punch actually.

Sakura smiled to herself. Served the bastard right to mess with her.

Gazing down at his sleeping form, she frowned. While asleep, he seemed so much more relaxed without the permanent scowl plastered across his features. His face seemed so care-free and peaceful. This was the Sasuke she remembered. This was the Sasuke she fell in love with. Kneeling down in front of him, she brushed a stray piece of ebony hair out of his face and smiled. This was the first time in many years that she could gaze upon him without him threatening to decapitate her.

It was kind of nice.

Suddenly, his face shift emotions. The lines of stress sprang onto his face again and his lips began twitching, as though he was trying to speak, but nothing came out. Sakura leapt backwards in alarm, cursing aloud. If he did wake up, she was quite sure that she wouldn't be able to beat him again.

It was time to leave.

Snatching up her supplies, she shoved them in her bag, not caring the about the organization. It hurt her deeply to know that she was so afraid of the one man she could never push out of her heart. She often wondered why she fell for the dark, broody boy in front of her. He was never kind to her, even when they were on the same team, and these days, to see him often meant some sort of battle for life or death would break out.

The genjutsu she has fallen for yesterday had done nothing to quell her anger or her shame. He had tried to kill her and she had been replaced by that red-haired girl. Even though she knew that what she had seen had been him trying to unhinge her mind and hurt her, it was the realization that Sasuke could quite easily fall for another girl that twisted knots in her chest. That genjutsu was meant to show the victim what they feared most. And now Sasuke knew that she still loved him.

Clenching her fist in anger she slammed her hand done into the ground, creating a small crater on impact. She was still just a moronic, heart-sick girl deep down inside. Shifting her gaze up to the stirring form in front of her, she felt her anger rise. One stupid boy was the root of all her problems. It was all his fault.

"You want to know something funny?" she said to Sasuke's unconscious form. This would probably be the only chance she'd every get to talk to him without the fear of imminent death. "After all the things you've put me and Naruto through, after all the harsh words and cruel criticism, I still love you. Or love the Sasuke you used to be. I know you are angry at the people who ruined your life, but come on. You had a pretty good thing going for you before you left Konoha. I could never begin to imagine your pain, but the truth is, you ruined your own life. They say that the best manner of avenging ourselves is by not resembling him who has injured us. You could have stayed and lived out your life knowing that you are better than all the people that have hurt you. Naruto and I would have been there for you no matter what. You could have learned about love, the one thing all those people knew nothing of.-"

Sakura sighed and slowly unclenched her fist, stroking his pale face. She felt tears beginning to prick at the sides of her eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of him, even if he would never know.

"I pity you Sasuke-kun, more than anything else, because now you'll never know. I hope life gives you everything you think you deserve and then some."

Picking herself off the ground, she arranged him so his airway would remain open while he slept. Taking one last close look at his him, she observed his face, trying to remember every angle of it. He had dark circles smudged under his eyes and he had marks of stress at the corner of his eyes.

"With some people, solitariness is an escape not from others but from themselves, for they see in the eyes of others only a reflection of themselves. Remember that Sasuke."

Slowly backing away from him, she pivoted on her foot and began to walk out of the enclosure. Looking over her shoulder, she whispered a farewell to his unconscious figure and took one final glance at him before launching herself up into the trees, on her way home.

----------------------------------------------------

"Whhhoa-ho-ho, what happened here?!"

"Shut it Suigetsu, wake him up already!"

"Me?! No way in hell, he'll slice my face off! And I think my face is rather nice to look at, and we wouldn't want to deprive the ladies of my dashing good-looks"

"They only thing you'll be depriving the ladies of is a good time. I mean, look at your sword, overcompensating much?"

"Would you like me to prove you wrong, hmmm?"

Sasuke was pissed. He thought he left Konoha to get rid of his annoying teammates. Trust him to find their equivalents. Groaning as he opened his eyes, he was met with the sight of Suigetsu crumpled up on the ground, moaning in pain and a flustered Karin screaming at him. Needless to say he wasn't surprised.

Sitting up, he was stunned to find that there was no pain in his chest. He opened his shirt to find bandages wrapped around his torso. Anyone else would have let a puzzling look creep across their face. Sasuke's remained blank. He slowly lifted his head and spoke out.

"Suigetsu, Karin, that is enough."

Karin immediately snapped her mouth shut and skipped over to his side, ignoring Suigetsu's moans of pain.

"Sasuke-kun, we were so worried about you when you took off yesterday! Where did you get to and-heeey, that's a nice bandaging job you've done there, I'm impressed." She said, reaching out to touch his chest. Sasuke grabbed her hand before she could and pushed it back, glaring at her.

"You mean you didn't do this?" he said, his voice remaining flat.

Puzzlement clouded Karin's features and she put on a pouty face.

"No, we only just found you! Are you saying someone else did this?"

Sasuke said nothing. He slowly put his hand to his face. It felt warm, despite the fact it was the middle of fall and the temperature was quite low. A slight smile flicked across his face. He knew who did this. Still with the small smile on his face, he stood, ignoring Karin's pestering questions.

A pleasant feeling that he hadn't felt in a long time flowed through his body. For the first time in many years, he was in a good mood.

She really hadn't changed.

And for that, he was happy.

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A/N- wooooooowww. I did not know how to end that. This is what happens when you eat too many cherry blasters and stay up late. I hope it doesn't suck toooo bad, I realize that there are some massive problems, but I got it finished! There are probably going to be a lot of "WTF happened?" questions, but I'll leave this up to your own interpretation.


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